A MAN ON A MISSION

by Jim Bunte

This article was publised in the February 1995 issue of
"Collecting Toys" (pages 44 -49). I am reproducing this article so that
all the collectors who missed it at that time can enjoy now. Also, for the new
collectors it is a great way to find out about Charlie Mack, who I admire the
most among my collector friends. I hope the author does not have any problem
as I have no way to contact him and ask for his permission to reproduce. Now
enjoy the article.

Centuries ago, when I was growing up, there was a kid in my neighborhood
who was different from the rest of us. He was a kid who had this toy
collecting thing figured out. "Single-minded" doesn't begin to describe
his fascination with die-cast. Witout a doubt, he had the world's greatest
Matchbox and Hot Wheels collection known to people under 10. The kid did
whatever it took -- within moral and legal boundaries -- to realize his
well-formed dream, much to our collective chagrin.

Why chagrin? A large portion of our time, you see, was spent losing dice
games to this kid, games in which our beloved Matchboxes or Hot Wheels were
collateral. The lure? Two for one odds. You won, you got two of
his cars. He won, and you parted with one. Who could resist?

Unfortunately, no one. When those Yahtzee dice rolled (if only Milton
Bradley knew .... ), you were but a wheel-turn away from parting with your
toys. This kid was a dice whiz; why any of us ever gambled with him,
I'll never know. He could roll sevens and elevens like the dice were
fixed.

During pensive moments, I've ponder that kid and his immense collection.
He was someone who knew what he wanted -- a stellar collection of die-
cast. -- and most important, knew how to get it (in this case, through
the magic of Yahtzee, sort of). And he began at an early age so he was able to
accomplish his dream.

Amazingly, I met a toy collector -- Charlie Mack -- who, in terms of love
for die-cast, could've been separated at birth from this neighbor kid. When
I visited Charlie's incredible, 15,800-piece Matchbox museum in Durham,
Connecticut, images of dice pits and vanished die-cast filled my head.
Everywhere I looked, I saw Matchbox toys. Charlie is a toy collecting completist, but, I'm happy to reporty, not because he's some Yahtzee
malcontent. He's a great guy with a friendly smile and a desire to spread
the word about die-cast collecting. In fact, Charlie Mack is a lot like
every toy collector you've ever met.

But Charlie does share some key traits with that kid. His dream of
collecting toy collecting toys extends back to childhood. It's been a
passion guiding his adult life. And he's been highly successful in his
pursuit: Charlie has one of the most comprehensive, supreme Matchbox
collections in the world, period. Judging from what I saw, I'd say
he has maximized his dream's potential, to say the least.

But what makes Charlie's such an interesting story is not that he
amassed a monumental assembly of Matchbox toys. It's what he does
with his collectibles that makes him so different from most of us --
and certainly from that dice-rolling kid of my past. He took his
phenomenal collection and, instead of hoarding it for his own
pleasure, creataed a public museum for all to see and appreciated.
It's well done, with an overwhelming array of Matchbox cars, trucks,
and related toys, all in pristine condition.

THE SEMINAL QUESTION
Okay, so it's obvious. But when you're talking about 15,800
Matchbox toys, it's a question that simply must be asked: Why?

And now, Charlie's answer -- brace yourself. "I don't know. I
just like Matchbox -- have, since I was a kid. It kinda just grew
into, well, this," he said meekly, with a wave of his hand.

All right, so he doesn't know what compels him. Who can blame
him? I challenge anyone to provide a defining answer for why we
collect. Most can't, and may be that's the way it should be.

Charlie gave us a tour of the collection, and it is extremely
impressive. If it's got Matchbox on the package, it's probably
here. And I'm not just talking about die-cast vehicle toys for
which Matchbox is so well known. How about a Lesney walking
elephant toy from the early 1950's? Or a Universal Matchbox
Nightmare on Elm Street "Freedy Krueger" doll with a Ginsu hand
and talking mechanism that says, "I'm gonna slice you up!"? Or
girl's toys? Or AMT models Kits? The lesson is simple: Matchbox
is far more than little cars, and that's just part of the educational
experience inherent in visiting Charlie's museum. Come to this
museum, and you leave better informed about Matchbox, Simple
as that.

THE CAR'S THE STAR
Of course, it's Matchbox cars that people come to see, and wao!
What an experience they're in for. Walls throughout Charlie's
Display are lined with Neil's Wheels Magic Box die-cast car
displays. I'm completely serious when I say you cannot
open your eyes in this place without seeing Matchbox cars. If
you're into die-cast, Charlie Mack's museum is heaven.

This is one museum curator who has everything organized.
Thank goodness, too, you quickly realize that without a strong
sense of organization, there would be total chaos.
Charlie laughed: "To be honest, there have been times when
it's looked that way. But I've worked hard to make sure the
displays are in logical order, nicely presented, and always well-
lit."

Walk through the display and you'll find what you're looking
for in short order. Charlie labeled each display with the era,
wheel type, and other pertinent information. Whether it's
regular-wheel Lesney, current-production Tyco, or anything in
between -- Charlie's got it.

Variations are a big part of the museum, and with good reason.
Part of Matchbox collecting's appeal is that you can collect
variations affordably and, with exceptions, easily. May be it's a
casting change; may be it's decoration shifts. Whatever --
Matchbox toys offer plenty in the way of variation collecting. The
museum really illustrates this.

That's not to say Charlie has everything. "Nobody can,"
he laments. "I try, but there are some toys where only one
or two pieces are known to exist. And they don't exist in my
museum!" Charlie has a keen eye, however; he recently discovered
rare regular-wheel Lesney toys in boxes of auction junk. "you never
know where the next one will come from, so always stay alert." Sounds
like good advice for any collecting interest.

CHARLIE'S CLUB
Although he has a nearly overwhelming display to maintain and enhance,
the museum isn't the only thing Charlie does, Matchbox-wise. He's also
founder of Matchbox USA, the major North American collecting club
devoted to all things Matchbox. Charlie coordinates membership, edits
the monthly newsletter, even runs die-cast shows on the East Coast.

Yet it only energizes Charlie. He's such an enthusiast that hardly
anything Matchbox wears him down. Whether it's reconfiguring the
displays in his museum, setting up another show, or promoting the
newest Matchbox releases in his newsletter, he's at full speed.

It's no surprise that Charlie is bullish on the future of die-cast
collecting. He likes many of today's products, and he believes lines
like Tyco's Matchbox Originals help build the collecting ethic,
particularly in adults who might remember early toys. "Anything that
brings in new people is good for die-cast. It doesn't matter what the
manufacturer -- people buy and collect.

One of Charlie's prime interests in the Matchbox USA newsletter is
promoting specialty toys made by Matchbox for firms like White Rose
Collectibles. These lines feature decoration and packaging you just
can't get anywhere else, such as White Rose's NASCAR line so popular
with today's collectors. "Specialty lines not only appeal to confirmed
collectors, but also bring new people in, such as the NASCAR crowd, who
might not otherwise be interested in Matchbox."

THE BRIGHT FUTURE
Considering he's been in the hobby for most of his days and
has seen the rise and fall of Matchbox manufactureres, Charlie
remains more than upbeat about the game. "I think we've yet to see
the cresting of die-cast collecting's popularity. It's easy, it's
fun, and the products keep getting better -- at good prices."

That's great news for someone like Charlie Mack. He's spent much
of his life devoted to the promotion of Matchbox collecting, and
die-cast collecting's current popularity is a payoff that manifests
for Charlie on many different levels. For starters, his museum does
much to bring pleasure to Matchbox enthusiasts -- not to mention its
contributions to educating the general public. His newsleter
disseminates the information required by die-cast collectors to stay
atop the latest developments. And his shows offer like-minded folks the
opporutnity to come together under the banner of die-cast collecting.

In all, not bad for a guy who really doesn't even know why
he does what he does. All we can say is, don't worry about it, Charlie --
just keep doing what you're doing........

Charlie Mack's Matchbox musurm is located at 62 Saw Mill Road in
Durham, Connecticut 06422. The museum is open by appointment only.
Please call (here author gave the old area code of
203, which I changed to reflect the new code) 860-349-1655 for
museum hours and information about the Matchbox USA collecting club.